Maine scrambles to regain funds for Riverview Psychiatric Center

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine's top health official says the department remains confident it will be able to reinstate federal funding for a state-run psychiatric hospital that recently lost more than half its operating budget.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid cut nearly $20 million dollars from the Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta last week, citing problems regarding the creation of two separate units at the 92 bed facility.

Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew told lawmakers Wednesday that the state is both appealing that decision and reapplying for funding.

But lawmakers say serious questions remain about how long it would take to regain funding and how the center will be paid for in the meantime. They also question what impact the loss of funding will have on Riverview patients.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)